


To Martin

by Bearslayer



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Other, Short, gotham season 4 episode 10 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-02-09 17:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12893097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearslayer/pseuds/Bearslayer
Summary: A letter from Oswald to Martin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> that episode gave me a lot of feelings okay leave me alone.

_Dearest Martin,_

 

_I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, but I fear falling into a pattern despite what I've done to safeguard you. You must always keep your enemies guessing, especially with what you hold dear. Too many times in the past I've faltered, or fallen into routine, and I've paid a terrible price each time. Gotham has taught me to be cautious, to appear random; to follow any sort of pattern is to open yourself up to trouble. Create a pattern, but do so in a way that appears to be chaos to those who presume to know you._

_How is Victor's bubbe treating you? I imagine she must find you a delight, being such a well behaved young man. She's a good woman. She reminds me of my own mother, doting and encouraging, perhaps a bit overbearing and fiercely protective. I've only met her the once, but I know Victor loves her dearly and assures me that she's doing everything she can to raise you well. I've made sure to give her every resource I can to help in your upbringing. I wish that the situation was different, and that it was safe to keep you with me. But at least this way, you'll have a mother figure. Every boy needs a mother to watch over him when the world is at its most cruel and frightening. Make sure you do as she asks and help her with the chores!_

_I wish you could have met my mother, my boy. She would have adored you just as much as I do. When I last visited her grave I told her about you. I like to think that she can hear me, wherever she is, and that she and my father both watch over you as they do me. I'm happy that I was able to do for you what I couldn't for them. To have the death of someone you love on your conscience is a truly terrible feeling; to have the death of two is to feel a crushing weight on the chest. My inaction caused my enemies to swoop in and take them from me, but at least it made me wisen up for when I met you, Martin. And though it pains me that I can only protect you by removing you from my side, I'm happy, and I hope you are as well._

_How is school? Is anyone giving you trouble? I hope you're able to make friends. Remember, if you have made any friends, to hold them at an appropriate distance! Watch their every move, my boy; information is the most powerful weapon a man can obtain. Well spoken words and hidden truths can protect you far better than any armor. The world is a scary place for people like us. We're different, but that can be a wonderful strength. Pursue knowledge of every sort and you will always find a way to outwit those who stand against you._

_I look forward to your next letter, my boy._

_With love,_

_Oswald C. Cobblepot_

 


	2. To Oswald, from Martin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin's return letter to Oswald.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still have feelings. Whyyyy.

_Mister Cobblepot,_

_Thank you for writing to me! Sometimes I get worried when Victor doesn't come for a long time because I know your job is dangerous but I know you can't call me or anything. Please stay safe there, Gotham is very scary. Sometimes when Bubbe watches the news I watch with her and I see Gotham on there and it's always something bad and I try not to get worried but I still do. I stopped watching the news for a while because I would always get upset, but then I got **more** worried because I didn't know if something really big happened!!! _

_I like living with her a lot. She's very nice. Whenever I get upset she always pets my hair and tells me it's okay because she's there, and her_ _eyniklekh will protect us and you (eyniklekh means grandson I think???)((she's talking about Victor so I definitely think that's what it means)). I don't worry about being protected because I know you care about me and wouldn't let anyone hurt me! :) Also I think that Bubbe likes having me around because I try to help her a lot. She likes that I write things instead of talking because she can't hear very well and I think she feels bad when she has to have people say things over and over again. She's teaching me a lot of things & I try to make sure she doesn't have to do too many things around the house. I learned how to make pancakes this weekend! Next time I see you I'll make some for us, with chocolate chips!_

_I'm very sorry your mom and dad are gone. I know how bad that feels. I only remember a little bit about mine at least so maybe it isn't as bad for me. If your mom was anything like you I would have loved to meet her too! But I'm sure it isn't your fault about what happened! You do everything you can to protect me so I bet you tried your best. She would be proud of you & I'm sure you were a really good son to her and your dad. I hope they would have liked me even though I'm different. I didn't have a grandma and grandpa so I would have liked it a lot too. Can I see a picture of them please? And you? I promise no one will know I have them, they'll just be for me. I'll keep them hidden._

_School is fine. There are two boys who are nice to me and like to be around me. I always remember that when there are bullies who want to pick on you it's better to make friends, and the one boy Thomas was a bully at first. I helped him with his homework and stuff and he started to like me! And his friend Jacob does anything he wants so we're friends now. They don't let anybody bother me. Neither of them are very smart but they're strong so it's nice to have them around! I know a lot about them but I don't tell them much about me. I think it's better that way. I drew a picture of all of us because I didn't have a picture to send. I drew a bunch of pictures for you, I hope you like them._

_Write back to me soon please and I hope you can come and see me, maybe for a holiday??_

_Love Martin_

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last chapter was written as a thank you to my dear friend Bird who drew me something wonderful and inspired me to wrap this up in the way I feel it deserves. If you're on tumblr, please show them some support! They're a lovely person. <3
> 
> http://birdydrawsstuff.tumblr.com/post/170703823207/decided-to-draw-a-little-something-based-off-of

 

 

“ _Dearest Martin,_

_Once again I must apologize for the length of time between my letters. Please know that I cherish our correspondence more than anything...”_

 

“ _... I can't wait until you write to me again! It always makes me so happy when I know Victor is coming, because I know he'll have a letter for me._

_Stay safe in Gotham!!”_

 

“ _Do you like the art supplies I sent? I hope you'll draw me more pictures. You're getting very good at it. Nurture that talent, my boy! ...”_

 

“ _... some 6 th graders tried to beat me up today, but I wasn't scared because I remembered what you said... I let them knock me down, and made the biggest one fall over because I hit the back of his knee! He fell on to the other boys. It was funny!”_

 

“ _I hope the holiday is going well for you, my boy. I sent a few things for you to open on the last few days of Hanukkah, since I know Bubbe celebrates. I included some things for her as well, so take care you don't mix the packages up...”_

 

“ _... and maybe when I get older I can go to college in Gotham even though I think it's kind of scary. I hope you have a good Father's Day! I still have the pictures of your parents, and the one of you, and I drew a picture of all of us together. ”_

 

«∞»

 

A year came and went, a steady flow of hand-written letters connecting the two. Strings of words written carefully and with love wove together the distance between Martin and Oswald, solidifying their bond. Though Martin never knew when a letter would come, he knew to trust that Oswald wouldn't leave him alone in the dark. On his darkest days, Oswald locked himself away in the basement of the manor. There he kept all the drawings, letters, and paintings Martin had sent to him.

He kept them in a little lockbox that was tucked away inside the masonry of the manor's basement. It was his hidden beacon of light for when the darkness became too much to bear. When Gotham's chaos was at its most oppressive, Oswald found solace in the thought of the boy who he hoped would grow up to be better than him in every way. Martin represented all the hope, all the joy, all the innocence that Oswald had once had, and he was desperate to protect him and that light he carried. He wished the world for Martin, and would do all he could to provide it to him on a silver platter.

«∞»

Martin kept his pictures and letters inside a shoebox inside the closet of his little room. Inside the box he kept a lighter, because he knew that Mister Cobblepot had enemies, and that one day he might have to destroy the shoebox to protect him. When his parents died he was too young to really remember them, but he liked to think that they were at least a little like Mister Cobblepot. He liked to think that they were clever and understanding, and that they would have done anything to make sure he was taken care of the way Mister Cobblepot did.

If they were anything like him, that meant that Martin might turn out to be like him too. He only hoped that someday he would be able to go back to Gotham, back home. But he would wait, and be patient, like Mister Cobblepot wanted. He would learn as much as he could, so that someday he wouldn't have to be protected anymore. Someday, maybe he would be able to protect him instead of being the one who needed constant care.

«∞»

Regardless of the hardships life threw at him, Oswald remained content in knowing that Martin was taken care of. But with each letter he received and each carefully crafted drawing his heart broke a little more. He knew what it was like to grow up without a father, and though he was neither Martin's father nor absent in his life, he worried that the boy would grow to resent him. He wrote letters and sent them with Victor as often as he was able, but the paranoia that had seated itself deep in his bones kept him from consistency. Wild theories that some long-gone enemy would find a way to rise from the grave just to kill the boy.

It took an entire year for Oswald to push those feelings down, to cast them into some tiny corner of his soul to wrestle with the other pains he had cast aside. The need to reassure Martin and be there for him only grew stronger... and when the time came, Oswald became a ghost. He disappeared from notice in the ways he had in years past when an adversary had proven to be too much for him. Only the Victors knew he was alive. To Fries, he entrusted the running of his empire in his absence. To Zsasz, he entrusted his location and the security of Fries.

«∞»

It had been a long last day at school but a nice one; everyone was happy to be leaving for the summer, and they were especially nice to him because it was also his birthday. It was like getting two holidays in one, and he had had so many treats that day that his stomach still ached. The walk home was quiet and warm, the early summer sun of New England casting long shadows across his path. He didn't take the bus home very often when it was nice out even though the walk took him nearly an hour. Bubbe said it was a very safe place to live.

He wasn't worried about anyone trying to hurt him. He kept a little umbrella pin on his lapel that was extremely sharp and he knew just where to put it if someone tried to take him away, the way the kids in the Narrows often were. And besides, Mister Cobblepot had taught him a bunch of ways to defend himself when he was still in Gotham. Even the pen he kept with his notebook could be a weapon if he moved fast enough. But no one every bothered him in the little town that he now lived, even if they didn't understand him the way Mister Cobblepot did.

As he made his way down the path to the house, he grinned. There was a black car in the driveway, which meant Uncle Victor had come to visit! Maybe he had come on Mister Cobblepot's orders because he remembered his birthday?

Martin broke into a run, eager to see what he brought. Presents would be nice, but a letter was all he really wanted. A long one that told him all about what was happening in Gotham, maybe. Or even one that had some lessons that he could take away. Mister Cobblepot had so many wise things to say, and Martin missed him so much that it hurt. The letters always made it better, though.

As the boy burst open the door with a bit more force than he meant to and dropped his backpack, he found himself stopped in his tracks, dumbstruck.

 

There, on the couch, sat Mister Cobblepot.

 

“Good afternoon, Martin. I would have picked you up from school, but I thought you might like to come home on your own time.” Oswald said.

Martin brought a shaking hand to his notepad, scrawling on it before showing him.

“I thought you couldn't come here?!!!?” His eyes were wide, filling rapidly with tears. It didn't feel real to the boy, so much so that he gave his arm a little pinch.

“Well, I've made some arrangements, and I did a significant amount of careful work to make sure nothing bad would happen... I made it so that I could come.” Oswald said, standing up slowly. “The truth of the matter, my boy, is that I grew up without any sort of male.. role model. And though I like to think I turned out as well as I could have, I can't help but wonder how it would have been if I had known my father as a boy. There are so many things I might have learned, and...”

Oswald shook his head roughly, giving a sigh and shrugging.

“I'm getting off track! I've missed you, Martin. And I've decided to spend some time with you here, where it's safe. Maybe the whole summer, barring some disaster that requires my personal attention at home. We can...” Oswald said.

His words came to a soft halt as Martin ran to him, throwing his arms around his torso. For the first time in a very long time, Martin's voice crept up from the depths where it had been buried. His voice was a soft, sobbing croak from years of disuse, but Oswald heard the word with perfect clarity.

“Papa!” He whimpered as he clung to Oswald, overwhelmed with joy.

“H-happy birthday, Martin.” Oswald whispered, and held the boy until his tears subsided.

 


End file.
